


Treasure of the Deep

by cryysis



Series: Waves in the Sea [2]
Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, F/M, Mild Blood, Minor Violence, background inukag, mermaids and sirens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:15:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27481051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cryysis/pseuds/cryysis
Summary: Something had happened. The tides may have removed any physical signs of danger, but the necklace told him all he needed to know.Someone had stolen his mermaid.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/Kouga
Series: Waves in the Sea [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2008105
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	Treasure of the Deep

**Author's Note:**

> I have nano to thank for finally writing this first chapter. Not quite sure how long this is going to be, but I have a general idea of how its going. The only thing I'm not sure of is the ending, so it'll be a surprise for all of us, including me. XD
> 
> As always, my amazing thanks to the lovely ladies on discord for all their encouragement, and a special thanks to beckawrites for editing! ^^
> 
> A note on language: for now, I won't be providing translations, as some things will be talked about/explained in the next chapters. However, if anyone doesn't want to wait, I'm using the 'Al Bhed' language from FFX. There are plenty of translators available online, so you're more then welcome to check them out!
> 
> Enjoy everybody!

Kouga woke one morning some six, seven, eight? months after being caught. The house was clean, not a hair out of place. But it’s too quiet. And there’s an ominous feeling in the air.

He walks to the beach, his steps marked in the sand. Low tide had ended sometime before sunrise; high tide would have wiped away any hints of where his mermaid had gone without him. The ominous feeling grew.

The waves roll back to the sea, and yet there’s a shade of blue lingering in the sand. The waves reclaim their land, but Kouga remembers where to look. The shades are mismatched; he bends to claim his prize, and finds a small chunk of sea glass.

Its twine wrap has been stretched taught, pulled with force until it snapped. The original tie keeping the loop connected is still held tightly in place. Its counterpart hangs around his neck, the cerulean blue dark when compared to the foam green.

Something had happened. The tides may have removed any physical signs of danger, but the necklace told him all he needed to know.

Someone had stolen his mermaid.

Kouga’s fist closed around the charm, bright eyes searching the horizon. No one in their small port town would have been stupid enough to try anything against him. They knew better than that. And the dock was too small for pirates, even if they’d brought in a buoy. They wouldn’t know their schedules well enough to know when she’d be outside. Which only left one explanation.

Her people had found their wayward mermaid, and taken her home.

* * *

_As long as you have it, you’ll be able to reach me. No matter what._

_Kouga. You will_ **_always_ ** _be able to reach me. Always._

“You’re crazy, you know that right?” The ship's captain was an older man, grizzled and wrinkled from years baking under the sun.

“You’re getting paid, aren’t you? What do you care?”

Something about that must have pissed the old man off. The captain grabbed his passenger and spun him around, dark eyes hot with anger. 

“You think you’re the first man I’ve seen do something stupid over some silly fish girl?” Rage pooled low in the stranger's gut, but the old man wasn’t done.“I’ve watched men drown trying to find what didn’t exist. You mark my words, boy: we’ll give you what you paid for, but when you start swallowin’ sea water none of us are comin’ in after ya.”

Kouga’s stony silence was his answer. The captain threw his arm away from him, stomping up the stairs towards the helm. 

Rolling thunder called Kouga’s gaze, the once blue waves turning black as the sun disappeared behind the clouds. The sea glass pulsed steadily against his chest, growing in strength the further they went out to sea. Only a few more leagues before he’d be right on top of them.

_Just hang on a little longer, Kagome. I’m coming._

* * *

  
  


In the few hours it had taken for Kouga to be satisfied with their location, a storm unlike anything the captain had ever seen began to build in the sky. Purple-gray clouds cracked with thunder, jagged shards of lightning striking the water. The ocean too had changed hues, where once there had been a beautiful deep blue, now the ship and its crew were surrounded by waves black as gunpowder.

Legend said storms such as these summoned more than hurricanes. They summoned monsters of unspeakable strength, creatures of the deep who would elsewise not be seen by human eyes.

Kouga forced them to stop right in the middle of it.

The dinghy was prepped with what he’d paid for: a harpoon as long as his arm, and a set of stones double his weight. Each stone was wrapped in thick rope; in each boot a sheathed knife he would later use to cut himself free.

The sea glass around his neck had stilled. It was now or never.

The captain trudged heavily through the sheets of rain to the insane man who’d paid for this damn voyage. Despite his earlier claims, he would never be able to rest if he sent the fool to his death without trying to talk some sense into him once more.

“I know, old man,” Kouga yelled into the wind, turning his head so the captain could hear him. “You and your men aren’t coming in after me.”

“I’ve met many a fool in my time, boy,” the captain’s expression was hard, but unchanging. “But you, by far, are the worst of them. You’ll get tossed into the ship’s bow before you even hit water.”

“I’m not worried.” Rain fell in thick sheets down his face. Had he not known better, the captain would have thought the boy the sea king himself for all his confidence. It’d be a pity to watch him die.

Grudgingly, the captain sighed, waving over one of his crew. “You’ve been taken in by them, it’s clear to see.” The crewman held up the rope in his hand for inspection. “But you’ve got spirit, lad. Ten copper pieces,” pennies compared to what the boy had paid for everything else, “and we’ll tie this around your waist. Give it three tugs, and we’ll pull you back on the ship.”

Kouga’s brow raised, surprised and amused by the offer. “What happened to not coming in after me?”

“We’re not,” the captain growled. “And you ain’t gettin’ this unless you pay for it.”

“Keep your line captain.” Lightning scarred the clouds, the thunder’s rumble vibrating in their chests. Kouga smiled. “You’ll need it. Ready the dinghy!”

“You don’t give orders on my ship, brat!”

Kouga ignored the captain’s anger, moving around him to take his place in the small boat. The oars had been tied down on the ship’s deck so they wouldn’t be lost. No use wasting good wood.

Several crewmen stood at each of the dinghy’s end, lines held tight in their grasp. They would pull at his mark, lifting him and the dinghy in the air. The other men would push its sides until he cleared the ship, and then he’d be lowered into the water.

The captain hovered outside the boat, watching as Kouga tied the thick ropes around his ankles. The harpoon he slung over his back, securing it to his chest. “You really don’t care that you’re going to die, do you? Their spell truly has hold of you.”

“If it’s as you say, captain,” Kouga looked up, smirk showing teeth, “then I’ll die a happy man. Try not to worry too much about me. You’ll give yourself even more wrinkles than you already have.”

The captain scowled heavily and finally stepped back. At his signal, the crewmen set to work, raising the dinghy high. As the others pushed it over the side, the captain called out to the fool boy once more. “Tell me, lad! The fish wife you’re looking for, she as pretty as they claim?”

Kouga laughed, his head disappearing over the side. “She’s the only temptation I’ll ever need.”

Pushing his way through the crew, the captain watched black waves smack into the dinghy’s side, smacking it into the hull. The scratches didn’t look deep, but they’d need inspecting before they set sail towards home. As the dinghy hit water, the boy untied the lines away from the hull and signaled for the crewmen to pull.

One side of the dinghy rose higher and higher, nearly tipping the boat and losing its passenger.

With the last tug, the dinghy went sideways, and dropped the lad beneath the waves.

The captain sighed and stepped back, letting the crewmen finish the job. The boat was tied down when it was brought back on deck, securing it from the storm. A few more minutes, and the boy would drown. He was said to see him go.

“Alright lads, time to head home!”

* * *

  
  


Sea water filled his nose and scratched his throat, sinking into his lungs. The currents managed to toss him against the ship’s hull, shells of oysters and clams tearing at his skin. He couldn’t see his blood, not in the deep black of the waves. But he could feel the torn edges of his shirt against the open wounds, the salt stinging and sharp.

But the weight of the rocks finally broke through the current, dragging him down into the sea. The light dimmed the farther he sank, what sight he had fading the faster he fell beneath the waves. He’d lose consciousness soon, but he couldn’t cut himself from the stones. He wasn’t deep enough yet, though how he knew was impossible to say.

Bending to pull a knife from its sheath was harder in practice then he’d thought it’d be. He had to grab the rope at his ankle with one hand to keep himself in place while he unsheathed his knife with the other. Kouga looped his hand through the leather cord he’d tied around the knife’s handle, partially ensuring he wouldn’t lose the thing.

The pressure of so much water hurt his ears, but he couldn’t let it distract him. Still holding the rope, Kouga sliced at it with his knife, putting the deadly edge back and forth over the hemp line. One by one the thick cords were sliced open, the last finally snapping under the strain. The rock sank even faster now without his weight added to it, his own descent slowing marginally. By feel alone he started on the second rope, an unnatural blackness edging at his blind eyes. He needed to work fast.

Something large swam past him, the change in current upsetting his hold. He’d have cursed if he had the air to spare. Instinct told him it would soon make another pass. But he was almost there, the last cord straining against his knife. A few more passes…

The rope snapped as the underwater creature made another pass, but Kouga was rapidly losing consciousness. He wouldn’t be able to fight much longer.

The sea glass beneath his shirt glowed, the charm hovering in his face. The blue light seemed to clear his head, and he felt himself begin to steady. He tried to inhale, his body's natural response. But rather than be choked by water, it was almost as if… as if he was breathing _it_ instead of air.

_As long as you have it, you’ll be able to reach me. No matter what._

Kouga’s lip lifted in a smile. “Atta girl, Kagome. Always lighting my way.”

But he wasn’t alone. Remembering himself, Kouga spun in place, sheathing his knife and pulling the harpoon from his back. This deep, there was no telling what was down here with him.

Thin strands floated in his vision, making his eyes narrow. The only time he’d ever seen anything like that in water was…

_Blood._

Teeth sank into his sides, rows of sharp points breaking skin. Kouga screamed, nearly losing the harpoon from the sudden pain.

It was a great white, larger than any he’d ever seen. With his dominant arm trapped against his body in the shark’s mouth, his thrusts with the harpoon would be weak at best. But to not do anything meant being shark dinner, and he’d come too far to let that happen.

The beast had started to swim away with its prey, and the further it went, the dimmer his light became. Panicked, Kouga fixed his grip on his weapon and slammed it into the nearest point he could hit.

Luck was on his side. The barbed point of the harpoon struck the underbelly, slicing deep beneath its scales. The shark released him immediately, and with both arms now loose, Kouga yanked hard, pulling the beast closer to him. The angle was awkward, but he managed to brace his feet against its sides and tugged, working to pull the harpoon free. The shark continued to struggle, turning back and forth to throw him from it.

The harpoon finally sprang free, the force strong enough to send him back a good few feet. Fearing for its life, the shark turned tail and swam away.

Kouga’s heart pounded relentlessly in his chest, taking its time slowing down. Worryingly, the glow from the sea glass had dimmed, likely from the distance the shark had traveled. And with no markers to lead him, there was no way for him to know from which direction he came. He’d have to guess.

Doubtful that he’d find any merfolk at this depth, Kouga dived, heading back in what he thought was the way he came. The general direction must have been right, as the glow continued to brighten the further he went.

For hours and hours he swam, the sea glass his only indicator that he was journeying in the right direction. His harpoon he kept at the ready, though he passed none of the more dangerous denizens of the deep ocean.

Something stirred beyond what he could see. The currents forming from its passage were massive, pushing him aside as if he were nothing. If this was some sort of sea monster, he hoped it had already had its dinner.

As he waited for the thing to pass, Kouga was unaware of the two figures coming up behind him. It wasn’t until he felt two sharp points digging dangerously into his sides that he knew he had company.

_“Fru yna oui, risyh, du lusa cu taab ehdu uin fydanc?”_

Unsure if he’d heard right, Kouga turned his head to see what had cornered him. Long hair, slitted pupils, and tails decorated with stripes and patches of multi colored scales, the two mermen behind him held their spear-like weapons firmly against him.

Well, damn. He’d gone looking for the mer, but it looked like they’d found him.

A third merman swam into view, looking much the same as the two behind him. Without pause the mer took his harpoon from him, holding it at Kouga’s throat when he tried to take it back.

_“Dra risyh femm hud ihtancdyht oui, pnudran. Ra tuac hud pamuhk du y cenah.”_

_“Drah fa femm mayja res vun dra vecr du vaycd.”_

_“Hu. Fa sicd dyga res fedr ic. Druikr ra ec hu bnewa du y cenah, dryd ra ec rana yd ymm ec y dnuipmehk cekh.”_

_“Fryd uv dra lryns ynuiht rec halg?”_

“You know, a translation wouldn’t go amiss.”

_“Xiead, risyh!”_

_“Ed ec megamo fryd madc res dnyjam rana. Vun huf, ra femm gaab ed.”_ The merman in front of him smiled, fangs shining in the glasses light. _“Fa femm mad dra rymv-pnaat taym fedr res.”_

He didn’t need to look behind him to know the others were smiling along with him. Something was about to happen, and there was a damn good possibility he wasn’t going to like it.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on tumblr at cryysiswritesthings!


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